US cemeteries saw leisure option with movies, music and even wine tasting

Audience watches the movie screen amid tombstones US cemetery

yoga classes, book club, film screenings outdoor, night tours to explore monuments. The programming is similar to many parks this summer, but at the Congressional Cemetery, historic cemetery in Washington, the activities are carried out in the midst of famous politicians graves and heroes of the American Civil War.

Following a growing trend in cemeteries across the country, the Congressional Cemetery offers a diverse schedule of events, according to its president, Paul Williams, attract up to 45,000 people a year.

On Friday, the film session, called Cinematery exhibited the classic Singin 'in the Rain. Tuesday is a day of "Yoga Mortis", with classes led by yoga teacher Jessica Woodburn.

Every two months, a book club called Tombs and Tomes (Tombs and Tomes) meets in the chapel of the cemetery to discuss mainly works with macabre themes.

On Saturdays, there are guided tours, and the first Thursday of each month, a night walk. Admission, $ 10 (about US $ 32), is entitled to a glass of wine.

Every year in October, one of the main attractions is the Dead Man's Run, a 5-km race in which the participants, many of them costumed, cross the cemetery to music. The price of registration, $ 40 (about US $ 130), includes a shirt and a beer.

"We encourage people to visit our cemetery, walk around, read the headstones, have fun. No need to be a solemn and sad place," Williams told the BBC Brazil.

"Many forget that a hundred years ago or more, people used cemeteries as parks, where they spent the day, had picnics, met with friends, even if they had relatives buried at the site."

Trend
The Congressional Cemetery is part of a growing group of American cemeteries that offer more than burials and funeral ceremonies.

Hollywood Forever in Los Angeles, promotes cinema sessions since 2002, as well as concerts and other events.

Oakland (Atlanta), Green-Wood (Brooklyn, New York), Spring Grove (Cincinnati), Laurel Hill (Philadelphia) and Mountain Grove (Bridgeport) are other historical cemeteries that have attracted thousands visitors with cultural programming throughout the year.

In the Holy Sepulchre, in Hayward, California, there are tasting award-winning wines produced by vines planted in the graveyard.

"Particularly in large cities, where there are especially grand cemeteries, this kind of programming has increased over the last 10 or 15 years," he told BBC Brazil the history professor Keith Eggener architecture at the University of Oregon, author of a book on evolution of American cemeteries.

costs
This transformation is driven mainly by the need to close the accounts at a time when the number of new burials is no longer sufficient to cover preservation costs, especially in the case of historic cemeteries.

"Many are already sold out, no longer have to raise funds with the space sale. They need to be creative to cover maintenance costs," says Williams, chairman of the Congressional Cemetery.

His career illustrates the challenge faced by historic cemeteries. Founded in 1807, the Congressional Cemetery holds the remains of 67,000 people, including famous figures as the first director of the FBI (US Federal Police), J. Edgar Hoover, Congress, Supreme Court justices and war veterans.

Despite the famous residents, however, with time the cemetery was entering decay.

"Twenty-five years ago, was almost completely abandoned, with grass at the shoulders, people living on site, drug use and prostitution," recalls Williams, who took over the presidency of the site in 2012.

Walking dogs
The transformation began in 1997, on the initiative of the community. Residents of the area that used to take their dogs for walks in the cemetery began to organize and raise money to cut the grass and other repairs.

The program has grown to include 750 dogs and a waiting list of up to three years. Participants pay annual fee of $ 225 (about R $ 739) plus $ 50 (R $ 164) per animal, so your dogs can wander freely through the cemetery.

In addition to the injection of approximately $ 210,000 (US $ 690,000) per year in the cemetery vaults, the presence of dogs and their owners is described as a "patrol" that helps keep the site free of vandals.

According to Williams, the dog-walking program and other activities sponsored by the Congressional Cemetery yield around US $ 400 thousand (R $ 1.3 million) a year, almost half of the annual budget of US $ 1 million (R $ 3 28 million).

Return
In entando to Eggener, economic motivation is not the only explanation for the transformation of these cemeteries.

"I think it's also for pride, recognition of the historical value of these places and desire to keep them as a vital part of the community," he says.

Eggener notes that often cemeteries are the best land share in certain neighborhoods, which causes them to be used as parks, as occurred in the 19th century.

Another factor is what he considers a current culture of nostalgia and fascination with the past.

"People are returning to cemeteries," he says. "In the 19th century, there were not many leisure options, and people were proud and were very happy to be able to walk in cemeteries. Remember that it was a time before the emergence of public parks, museums and botanical gardens in the United States."

Activities included tours carriages, picnics and even hunting birds. "Over time, cemeteries associations now publish guides to guide visitors and also establish rules on the type of permitted activity," says Eggener.

respect
The purpose of these rules, Eggener says, was to maintain a balance between attracting visitors and ensure a respect for the dead environment.

This remains a current concern. Last year, when the Congressional Cemetery began to show films, two readers protested in a letter to The Washington Post.

"We can not believe that anyone would promote the use of a cemetery for film projection. Have we lost all sense of decency and respect for our families and ancestors as to macular such a sacred place?" He questioned the letter.

However, according to Williams, "it is very rare that someone criticize any of our events." It adds that the schedule is planned by a team of six employees with care that is not offensive.

"If it were not for these events, our cemetery would not be as it is today, with the cut grass, the preserved monuments, a safe place," he says.

Williams points out that the cemetery is still active and some of the visitors end up being interested in acquiring lots to be buried there.

Community
For Eggener, it is up to each community, including visitors, people with family buried and administrators decide how to use the cemeteries.

"There will always be someone unhappy with whatever the solution," he says.

Eggener notes that, when all family members have died, when it comes to the fourth or fifth generation, many tombs end up abandoned, since no one remembers who is buried there.

"We have these large slices of land, in the middle of large cities, falling into disrepair, often turning into dangerous places. So if you can find a way to keep these places, a way that is beneficial for the living, is positive "says Eggener.

"This is something we should keep in mind: in the end, the cemeteries are for the living and for the dead."